Journey to the Cell

Last night I attended Game 2 of the ALCS between the White Sox and Angels.  We arrived at the park pretty early, about an hour before game-time, and there was already a pretty sizeable crowd.  The atmosphere was one of excitement, with a hint of concern at the possibility the Sox might find themselves down 2-0.  

As we made our way through the crowded concourse I remarked to Jennifer that I hadn't seen such an enthusiastic and sizeable baseball crowd since the last time I was at Wrigley Field, and received a playful punch on my arm for my trouble.

We settled into our seats (right-center bleachers, just past the visiting bullpen, though calling the outfield seats at the cell bleachers is kind of a stretch) after picking up some snacks.  I then witnessed the first highlight of my night - Barack Obama throwing out the first pitch.  I'm a big fan of Barack's, though I wish he could be persuaded to switch allegiances and cheer for the Cubs....

The fans nearby were nice, knowledgeable, and really excited about their team, for the most part.  I did learn the following from one know-it-all nearby -

As the line-ups were announced, I predicted Aaron Rowand would have a home run.  He didn't - but he almost touched them all without putting the ball over the fence.  He hit a ball out to right (the play was charged as an error on Vlad Guerrero), and made it to third easily.  The Angels threw to third and missed, Rowand was sent home, where he was thrown out at the plate.  I'm really not sure what the Sox were thinking sending him - the ball didn't squirt nearly far enough away for Rowand to recover and make it home.  

And for a while, that play looked like it would loom large in a game with very little offense from either team.  The Sox jumped on the board in the first, scoring a run in small-ball style after reaching on a throwing error by Washburn.  

They held a one-run lead until the fifth, where Mark Buehrle, who had great stuff, allowing only five hits, gave up the hit that counted - a home run to the Angel's Quinlan, tying the game at one.  

And there it stayed, even after the Sox loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, only to have Donnely come in for the Angels and strike out Jermaine Dye to end the inning.  

The last few innings were phenomenal, with Escobar having great stuff in relief for the Angels, and Mark Buehrle continuing his gem of a game.  The crowd grew more and more tense, waiting for something to happen.  

And then came the bottom of the ninth.  Escobar struck out the first two Sox batters, making them look foolish in the process.  He struck out the third batter, A.J. Pierzynski, too, and I turned to Jennifer and said, "Hey, free baseball!"  But that was not to be.  

We couldn't really see the play all that well from where we were, but after A.J. struck out, he stood there for a second then ran to first base, all while the Angels were coming off the field.  Sciosca came out, the umpires conferenced, and apparently the ball hit the dirt before going in replacement catcher Josh Paul's glove, and he never tagged Pierzynski out.  Looking at the replays later that night, I think it was a bad call, but you couldn't have convinced anyone at the Cell of that.  

So after a delay of about five minutes while Sciosca voiced his displeasure and the umps met, the inning resumed, and the speedy Pablo Ozuna was called up to pinch run for Pierzynski.  He promptly stole second, then Joe Crede hit a nice line drive to left that probably would have scored Ozuna even from first, and that was that - White Sox Win!

And let me tell you, at that moment the Cell erupted like I had never seen before.  It truly was, as Al said yesterday, how it should be.  The excitement was so palpable that I even ended up sheepishly high-fiving a few Sox fans.  The game was what playoff baseball is supposed to be, and I'm thrilled I was able to be there.  Here's hoping we get another taste of that at Friendly Confines sooner than later!